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The alternative energy company that has plans to install hundreds of turbines in the East River to harness tidal energy and generate zero-emission electrical power is running into trouble due to the massive amount of energy they are dealing with. The small number of turbines already placed in the East River by Verdant Power have been temporarily removed as the strong currents continue to overwhelm the physical construction of the underwater "windmills." The six turbines that were placed in the water last December and were capable of supplying 1,000 daily kilowatt hours of power and serving the Gristedes supermarket on Roosevelt Island could not withstand currents.
The East River is not actually a river; it's a tidal strait, and one can easily observe the current moving in opposite directions with the tides. Verdant Power's plan is to install a field of turbines anchored to the bottom of the East River and use the currents to generate pollution-free electricity for the city. The currents have proven so strong, however, that the turbine propellers have been sheared off a third of the way down, and stronger replacements were hampered by insufficiently strong bolt connections to the turbine hubs.
The New York Times reports that the company is encountering the setbacks with optimism, encouraged that the East River possesses even more power than originally planned for. "'The only way for us to learn is to get the turbines into the water and start breaking them,' said Trey Taylor, the habitually optimistic founder of Verdant Power."
Hydro-kinetic power generation is drawing increasing interest. The predictability of tides makes it attractive in a way that wind-powered turbines lack. KeySpan is currently partnering with Verdant Power in its project to install East River turbines and a second company, Oceana Energy, recently secured a federal permit to install turbines further up the East River from Verdant's. Some concern has been expressed about the effect of turbines on aquatic wildlife, but Verdant is funding a close examination of the impact of its turbines on fish and other river species. WNYC interviewed Dean Corren, Verdant Power's Director of Technology Development, in April.
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I fail to see how placing turbines in the east river can be worse for the aquatic wildlife than, you know, all the OTHER crap in the east river.
I think it's probably worth the unfortunate deaths of a couple of fish per year in order to access so substantial an amount of green power.
It's a mighty powerful current if you try and kayak against it like we did yesterday from Hallets Cove to the LIC Community Boathouse. We were giving ourselves a challenge... oy. We crawled up the Roosevelt Island wall and scooped ourselves slowly toward base. We kayak past those underwater turbines all the time, and let me tell you, I wouldn't want to turn over anywhere near 'em, that's for sure.
"....the turbine propellers have been sheared off a third of the way down, and stronger replacements were hampered by insufficiently strong bolt connections to the turbine hubs."
Wow. I'm sure glad those engineers aren't building bridges! Wait- maybe they are!
here's another idea. wind power. there plenty of rooves that can support wind power and god knows we have enough wind around here.
I hope they continue to invest in the turbine and improve them. The environmentalists who cry about harming the local ecosystem of the East River (sorry tidal strait) should dip a glass in a take a nice long drink.
And while we're on the green energy subject, please check out Con Ed's Green Energy buy in options here:
http://www.conedsolutions.com/residential/greenpowermain.htm
We need to put a stop to this project now! It's slowing down the moon! SOMEONE THINK OF THE MOON!!!1!!!!1!!1!!!!!!!!1!!!!11!!!!!!
i've wondered about this for a long time, but at a macro level, you're essentially removing energy from a natural system, so there has to be an effect on that system - probably negative. are these systems and the forces that drive them so massive that the amount of energy we're removing won't matter? are there any models that deal with this?
Their plan to rebuild with cast aluminum blades is hopeless. They need to be an order of magnitude stronger than wind turbine blades to deal with the power at such low RPM.
"The only way for us to learn is to get the turbines into the water and start breaking them." said Trey Taylor, the habitually optimistic founder of Verdant Power.
What a moron!
It is not rocket science to calculate the forces involved. Obviously they don't have engineers.
Who gave these idiots the right to do this project? This is the kind of half-ass company that gives the green movement a bad rep.
Forget about the material used to make the blades and ask yourself why they're using horizontal blades at all. Put in the aquatic equivalent of a quietrevolution turbine and the problem disappears.
Aren't the turbines gonna chop up all the fish?!?!?!
Yes, the turbines will chop up the fish and whatever else happens into the blades (dolphins, hello!). You see, the great force of the tidal strait is powerful enough to spin these blades at ridiculous speeds (think 84,000 RMP). Think of a 19 pitch prop on a ski boat. Now multiply that by the amount of these in the water, and their great size.
I think this was overlooked by the design team.
I've navigated the gate 8 times now. It can be as quiet as a mouse or roaring like a lion. Using this power to help in our struggle for energy independence is another step forward in our goal for oil independence. I commend Verdant for there efforts and support them in trying to move forward with this very difficult project. Thanks for taking the chance.
hear hear to capt. john e. and to the the guest who mentioned the aquatic equivalent of a quietrevolution turbine , you make a fine point. why don't they attach the turbines to a massive chassis e.g. an aircraft carrier which can allow for raising and lowering of the turbines for maintenance?